France

"L'Hexagone" is the down-to-earth description the French give their hexagonally-shaped country, which lies between Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Andorra, Spain, Monaco and Italy. The mythical capital, Paris, has the greatest urban, architectural and political appeal and still sets most trends. Chic fashions, philosophers and great cinema emanate from the metropolis. The fact that Paris is not France, and that it is possible to live like a god in France's traditional agrarian landscape, with its rich historical cultural heritage and the natural beauty of the countryside and the coasts, has long been known to the world. From the English Channel to Alsace and the French Alps to the Camargue and the Mediterranean, from Le Mans to Perpignan and the Pyrenees, from Bordeaux to the Basque Country, every landscape has its own specialities and facets. In this grandiose kaleidoscope of desires, everyone can find the piece of France that suits them. "La France" is a land of wine and cheese, of kir, cider and champagne, a land of menhirs, Roman aqueducts and amphitheatres, of castles and palaces, of Romanesque abbeys and great Gothic churches, of long rivers, the scent of lavender and pine, the chirping cicadas, the orchards, the patisserie, the nostalgic cars, the oysters de Bellone and the seafood platters that chansonnier George Brassens already enjoyed on the Sete canal. France is so much more and has crept into our minds, our stomachs and our hearts—with images that will remain unforgettable